


Changes

by vashtra



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Growing Up, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:33:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25551340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vashtra/pseuds/vashtra
Summary: Jackie and Eric help each other move past the heartbreak of Point Place, but when Kitty wants everyone home for Christmas how will they deal with the very people they've been running from?
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Jackie still wasn’t sure what had originally compelled her to reach out, and if you asked him he probably wouldn’t have had an answer either. The simplest, and the most honest, answer was pure loneliness. Jackie had never felt more alone in her life than she felt that summer. Hyde spent all of his time with Sam, which meant the Forman's house- a place she once thought of as a sanctuary- was off-limits. Even if she was compelled to go over, what was waiting for her? Donna, her once best friend, had become bitter and almost cruel; she was barely recognizable. Fez was nice after the break-up, but being around him was just awkward now. She didn’t even want to think about what Hyde was doing. She was more alone than ever before in her life; more alone than when she was growing up without parents, more alone than those years she spent with her fake cheer-leading friends and an always cheating Michael, she had nothing left now.   
On a whim, she decided to write a letter to Eric, if just for something to do. It didn’t say much of what was going on, it caught him up on the barest of details, and she tried to keep mentions of the new Donna to a minimum. She sent it out and promptly forgot about it, until a few weeks later when she received a letter from Africa. Not only did Eric respond, he wrote an actual letter with little amounts of small talk and with lots of emotions. Surprisingly, Jackie found out that she had been the only one to write Eric and he was feeling as lonely and lost as she was. Weeks turned into months, and when he finally came home Jackie was the only friend waiting for him at the airport with Red and Kitty.   
It was awkward at first, talking as much and as deeply as they had through their letters, but they quickly learned to enjoy each other's company and hold on to the only piece left from the old basement days. Somehow, Jackie and Eric had become best friends, something neither of them had seen coming. When Eric found his house had become unbearably packed with memories he didn’t want to keep reliving, it was only natural that he and Jackie find an apartment together; he didn’t like that she was still living in her parent’s empty house. She helped him adjust to what had become of his Donna and he helped her mourn the death of Steven Hyde as they had known him.   
They had been two of the only people to love Steven completely, and they both lost him in a way. Eric had trouble recognizing the man he once thought of as a brother, the one who only pretended to be incapable of love instead of the one who purposely hardened his heart against it. Eric still wasn’t sure what had gone on in Hyde’s head with Sam, but once he heard what it did to Jackie and how Hyde continually made it worse he became less concerned with the reasoning. The Hyde he knew would have never crushed a girl like that; especially one that used to love him so much. Eric still saw Hyde every couple months, but it wasn’t the same. When he came back from the impromptu catch up Jackie would always ask under her breath, “Is he okay?”   
“He’s fine.” Eric would respond, both a little sad that she still cared enough to want to know. Once, after a year of living together, Hyde showed up at the apartment. Luckily, Eric had been the one to open the door.  
“I need to talk to you.” said a voice Jackie knew extremely well, and her heart fluttered and stopped at the same time as she held her breath. She froze where she was in the living room as she tried to listen to the conversation.  
“I told you not to come here man, c’mon we can go somewhere else,” she heard Eric say.  
“I’ve never even seen your place, would it really kill her if we sat in your own goddamn living room?”  
“Hyde, don’t even start.” She had never heard such fire in Eric’s voice and it started to warm her frozen bones just slightly. “I want to be a part of your life, but she’s a part of mine and I will do what’s best for her. So do you still need to talk?”  
“Yeah, geez. Just sayin’.”  
“Well don’t. Let me go tell her I’m leaving and I’ll meet you outside.” He said the last part pointedly as Hyde snickered. She tried to fix her face before Eric could see her and start to worry.   
“Jackie,” he said softly as he made it to the top step and headed over to where she still stood holding the plates from dinner, “are you okay?”  
She hesitated, but she was worried about Ste- Hyde, and she didn’t want Eric to find any excuse to stay back and spend the night here. If Hyde had come, it meant something might really be wrong. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. You go, I can finish here.” She tried to smile convincingly but he didn’t look fooled.   
“Okay, I’ll try not to stay out too late,” Eric said before kissing her on the cheek and heading out. She let out the breath she was holding and tried to stop thinking about the voice. About how it seemed deeper than the last time she had heard it. How he was really still alive out there and moving on with his life. She shook her head and put the dishes by the sink; Eric would help in the morning and she needed to sleep. She couldn’t stop hearing his voice as she drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

That was how they spent the next couple years. Jackie and Eric were the only two to have regular dinners with the Forman’s, though Kelso and Brooke did stop by whenever they found an excuse to make the drive. Fez was off being Fez and Hyde was drinking himself into oblivion, from what little Jackie had heard about him. Donna was off ‘finding herself’, which both Eric and Jackie hoped meant she was rediscovering the person they had both loved and not settling into the bitter Donna she had become. Jackie continued to learn and thrive at the local Point Place TV station while Eric had become the owner of the only comic book store in Point Place, something he was very proud of. After a comfortable couple years, Kitty decided enough was enough and all of her babies were going to be home for Christmas, no excuses.   
The gang hadn’t been together in around five years, and it was fair to say Jackie and Eric were getting nervous. They spent many nights in their own version of a circle, sitting around their living room discussing the awkwardness awaiting them. They spent a lot of time on Donna, on what she’d be like and what they should say when they saw her. Neither had heard from her since she ran off, around the same time Eric and Jackie had agreed to live together. Jackie couldn’t even put into words the anxiety she felt over seeing Hyde again.   
“Jackie, how are you feeling about…” Eric started one night.   
“I’m fine.” She said curtly, cutting him off. She sighed at his raised eyebrow and knew he wouldn’t accept her simple answer. “At least, I’m trying to be fine. I mean, I’m Jackie Burkhart!” Eric’s quiet “yeah!” at that made her giggle. “Steven Hyde has no power over me anymore.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince with that. Eric certainly didn’t look convinced.   
“He has changed Jackie. Not enough obviously, but he shouldn’t try to hurt you anymore,” he said quietly.  
This was news to Jackie. She never asked details about Hyde. She never wanted to appear too interested and she was keeping her life as Steven Hyde free as possible for her own sake.   
“If he does try and hurt you, I’ll take him down for you.” The thought of Eric fighting Hyde was enough to send her into another fit of giggles. “I’m not joking Jackie! I may not be strong, but I am skinny and surprisingly fast.”  
“I’m sure you are,” Jackie managed to get out through her laughter as she gently padded Eric’s arm.   
They spent the next couple days wrapped up in their own anxieties as the day got closer and closer. The day before the party, they went over to help Kitty with the final preparations. Red pulled Eric away to finish outside lights and Kitty grabbed Jackie to help with the baking; she had been giving Jackie lessons for a couple years after spending some restless nights worrying about how her two babies were ever going to feed themselves.   
“Now Jackie, how are you feeling about seeing he whose name we shall not speak?”  
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Mrs. Forman, we can say his name. And I am fine, completely and utterly fine.”  
“And I’m the Queen of England,” Kitty laughed, seeing right through Jackie’s lie. This was going to be a long couple of days. Just then the screen door opened and an all too familiar voice hit Jackie’s ears.   
“Hey Mrs. Forman, need any help?”   
Jackie had to consciously tell herself to act normal as she stood up slowly and brought the ingredients she was grabbing over to the counter. Kitty looked swiftly between her two children and tried to decide what would be best for the now quiet girl adding flour to the bowl in front of her. Jackie lifted her eyes and felt her breath stop when they met his. Damn him, she thought. His face was older, he had that beard back and he had more lines around his eyes but damn, those blue eyes were the same ones she fell in love with. Eric burst through the door in time to stop the awkward eye contact as he hurried over to Jackie.  
“Sorry, I tried to come warn you but I was apparently too late,” he said under his breath. Jackie tried to smile at him reassuringly and he took his place behind her shoulder, seemingly ready to protect her from something at a moment's notice.   
“Well, isn’t this nice!” Kitty laughed to break the tension. “Steven, you can come help me with this pie.” He made his way slowly to the other side of the counter while Jackie very deliberately kept her eyes on the bowl in front of her. “Eric, go finish outside.”  
He looked like he was about to protest but Hyde interrupted him.   
“Eric, I’m not gonna jump her. She doesn’t need a bodyguard,” he said quietly.   
“That’s not the only pain you cause, Hyde. Play nice mister, or else.” Although Jackie appreciated the sentiment, she had to hold back a giggle at how nonthreatening he sounded.   
“Eric, I’m fine. Go help Red or we’ll be in actual danger.” Jackie touched Eric’s arm and pushed him gently towards the door. After one more try at a threatening glance, Eric left them alone with Kitty. Jackie was focusing very hard on the recipe in front of her and she tried not to glance at the man only a few feet down from her.   
“Well, I’m going to go make sure we grabbed all of the boxes of decorations, you two just finish up here,” Kitty said, seemingly unaffected by the worried glances her two children were sending her at the thought of being alone together. Silence fell over the kitchen as the door shut behind her.  
“So, the great Jackie Burkhart can cook? Since when?”  
“Since when does the legendary Steven Hyde not wear sunglasses and offer to help in the kitchen?”  
Jackie snuck a glance at the boy and cursed him, and herself, again. She had known since they made eye contact that she was still in love with him. How, she wasn’t sure. She let out a sigh and went to go grab a baking sheet.   
“What, a new fashion trend got you down?” His eyes showed no malice, assuring Jackie that he was joking again and not actually being cruel. She knew all too well what those eyes looked like when he was trying to cause pain.   
“Now that you mention it, paisley is making a horrid comeback.” His small chuckle caused her heart to flutter. It was almost like the Steven Hyde she had once known and she had to keep reminding herself that she hadn’t imagined Sam or the last couple of years, that they had both really changed and grown apart and it wasn’t necessarily for the better.   
“So how’s the hunt for a weak, rich husband going?” He asked after a couple seconds of quiet. She really didn’t need him to know that dating hadn’t been a part of her life for a while and that it was mostly because of him. She wondered why he felt the need to ask, was he trying to just fill the silence or was he generally interested in her love life? She was going to go crazy.   
“You know, I haven’t been looking too hard. If I left Eric, that boy would starve in three days and I just can’t have that on my conscience. Guilt only adds wrinkles.” She told herself she wasn’t going to ask him back, wasn’t going to bring up the past, but right when she thought this her stupid mouth opened. “What about you? Can’t be that hard to find another stripper to your liking.”   
She might have seen it wrong, but Hyde actually looked a little hurt before he caught himself and reclaimed his zen. “You know, just gotta find the right stripper to introduce to the parents.”   
Before Jackie could respond, Kitty reentered the kitchen and seemed relieved that there were no dead bodies and no screaming. Jackie couldn’t help but feel proud of herself; she had survived her first conversation with Hyde and she didn’t feel like crying or running away! She smiled to herself as she put her cookies in the oven. She walked over to where Kitty had started doing dishes and gave her a kiss on the cheek.   
“Cookies are in the oven, I’m going to go make sure Mr. Forman hasn’t killed Eric yet.” Kitty didn’t stop her as Jackie walked out the screen door without looking back and without saying anything to Hyde. Somehow, she knew he was watching her leave and she felt great being the one walking out this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Eric and Red were putting boxes in the garage and both faces lit up when they saw Jackie walking toward them.   
“Finally, one of the competent dumbasses,” Red mumbled as he went to put more boxes away in the back of the garage.   
“Hey, I resent that,” Eric said mostly to Jackie as he walked to meet her. “How’d it go? Do I have to sock him?”  
“Calm down there Spiderman, he was fine. I feel better actually, I think I can get through this weekend!” Both subconsciously glanced at the house next door. “Well, this part of the weekend…” Jackie added; they had yet to see Donna.   
“Well if you and Hyde can be civil, anything is possible!” Eric said optimistically.   
“Eric, I just gotta clean up here. Go see if your mother needs help,” Red’s voice came from some corner.   
“Actually, Mrs. Forman sent me out here to see if you needed any help,” his voice came from too close behind Jackie and she had to stop herself from jumping away.   
“If that’s the case, make yourselves invisible for a while. You dumbasses will all just get in the way.”   
The three hardly needed more convincing as Eric led the way to the basement with Jackie close behind and Hyde following from a distance. Jackie froze at the bottom of the stairs as she looked around. It was like a time capsule; nothing had changed in the five years she had been away.   
“Gonna move Princess, or you just gonna stand here admiring the view?” Hyde’s voice came from right over her shoulder and it broke her out of her daze. She scurried to the couch where Eric was sitting and a blush spread across her cheek. Hyde chuckled all the way to his chair.   
“Well, this is super weird,” Eric said too loudly in the quiet of the basement and Jackie couldn’t hold back her laugh. He wasn’t wrong, but he was one of the few who would mention it out loud. “What do we do now?”  
Hyde smiled slyly as he pulled a joint out of his jacket pocket. Eric glanced at Jackie, and she understood his concern. Getting high with Hyde was probably not going to end well, but it was the best way to celebrate being back in this basement and her nerves could really use it.   
“Why not?” Jackie asked and she took a seat in the armchair to better form a circle.   
“Atta girl,” Hyde said so quietly she thought she must have imagined it. Within minutes the basement was smoky and Jackie couldn’t stop giggling as Eric told some stupid story from his store. She kept looking up and meeting Hyde’s eyes, she didn’t think he had looked away from her for the past 10 minutes at least and she wasn’t really bothered by that fact. Thankfully Eric was too involved in his high to notice what was going on. Jackie couldn’t stop laughing at the difference time makes; it feels like just yesterday she was staring at Hyde waiting for him to notice her. Oh how things change.   
“Mind sharing with the class?” Hyde asked.  
“I do mind, yeah,” she replied with her biggest smile, which sent her and Eric both into fits of giggles.   
“I forgot why I love getting high alone,” Hyde tried to say with an air of annoyance, but nobody was fooled. He had missed this as much as they had. Before they could respond, the basement door swung open to reveal a sheepish looking, thankfully red-haired Donna.   
“Um, hi. I didn’t think anyone would be down here,” she shuffled her feet nervously and another fresh bout of laughter came from the couch.   
“High indeed.” Eric said, getting another round of giggles from Jackie who had moved to join him. She protectively took his hand and tried to control her laughter enough to glare at the intruder.   
“Well, I’m going to go say hi to Mr. and Mrs. Forman, I’ll see you guys around I guess,” Donna said awkwardly as she walked slowly over to the staircase and up to the kitchen.  
Jackie and Eric shared a look of hope; her hair had been red! Maybe, just maybe, she was back.   
“I should go talk to her,” Eric said to Jackie, who had both forgotten about the other person in the room.  
“Eric, is that a good idea? I just think,”  
“Jackie, I have to know who she is now. I’ll be fine.” He patted her hand reassuringly and then went up the stairs and left Hyde and Jackie alone.   
“Jackie, he’ll be fine.” Hyde said; he must have picked up on her anxiety. She couldn’t stop chewing her bottom lip and wringing her hands.  
“Well he better be, otherwise I will have to kill her and I’d rather not break a sweat this winter.”   
“You could take her.” She looked up and found him staring again, but his eyes simply seemed interested as they met hers.   
The silence around them seemed heavy and he was the first one to look down.  
“Look Jackie, I realized I’ve never apologized, but I am sorry for how we ended and how I acted. Seriously.”  
She didn’t believe what she just heard. How much had she smoked? Had she imagined it? She looked up and met his sincere eyes again and anger boiled up through her veins.   
“Sorry Steven? Really? You didn’t just break my heart, you completely destroyed me because you could and because you enjoyed it!” She was standing up at this point and he looked like she had hit him. His expression broke her heart; she knew sorry wasn’t enough but it was also all he could do now and it was proof that he was trying. She took a deep breath and sat back down; she knew if she stormed out now she would never get the closure she desperately needed.  
“I’m sorry too,” she started while staring down at her hands. She couldn’t bear to look at his face. “I’m sorry I pushed you and I’m sorry I left you. I just,” she trailed off, not sure where she was going with this.  
“You just what? I never really understood the ultimatum…” he said it slowly like he was worried she would yell or just walk away. She put her head in her hands; she felt so tired at that moment and her heart hurt. She didn’t want to spend this weekend fighting though and so she knew she had to answer.  
“Stev- Hyde-, I just wanted to know you loved me. We had grown so distant that last year and you never talked with me anymore without using your ‘zen’ and I still loved you so much it hurt. I needed to know that that would pass, that you loved me enough to find a way back to me and that you wanted to spend a future with me.”  
“I did love you,” he whispered and her cold laughter surprised him.  
“I’m not 17 anymore, I don’t need your empty words and I won’t accept them just so you feel less guilty. You wanted to know, now you do. That’s that.”  
She had expected a classic Hyde storm off coupled with a perfectly tailored insult designed to break all the self-confidence she’d crafted since their last run in. What she hadn’t expected was for him to hang his head in shame. The silence in the basement seemed heavy enough to drown in as she waited for him to say or do something.   
“I guess I deserve that,” he finally said.   
Seriously, she must have smoked too much because there was no way this conversation was happening.   
“Yeah, you do.” She paused, trying to decide how much she wanted to open up to him. “I know I messed up too, but Stev-Hyde, you broke me. I thought you loved me and you destroyed me.”  
“I have to live everyday knowing what I did to you Jackie, I don’t really need the reminder.”  
“Well, why? Why did you…”  
“I don’t know. Honest. I was 18 and scared shitless and I felt like my world was imploding. I knew someone like you would get bored with someone like me, especially once you graduated and moved out and realized how much of a loser I was. Well, am. So I guess I decided to rip the band-aid off, walk away before you did.” His head had stayed down, which was good because Jackie didn’t know if she could face him right now. She was sure her mouth was wide open as she grasped for something, anything to say. She felt like the world had suddenly started to move in slow motion.


End file.
